Racer, NFL player reportedly split up
Just a year ago, Danica Patrick teased the possibility that she and her NFL boyfriend Aaron Rodgers were thinking about marriage, telling E! News, “I mean, I would hope that’s the intention.”
The couple showed more of that intention, when they purchased a $28 million mansion in Malibu together, Variety reported.
But something happened between the seemingly devoted couple. Fans suddenly noticed Wednesday that the former NASCAR driver stopped following Rodgers on Instagram, Us Weekly reported. The move launched speculation that the two-year relationship was over. Patrick’s rep confirmed to E! News Thursday that Patrick and the Packers quarterback are “no longer together.”
When Rodgers, 36, and Patrick, 38, were first linked romantically in December 2017, their backgrounds as rich, famous and successful athletes seemed to make them very well-suited and even a new royal sports couple. Certainly, it appeared that Rodgers might have more in common with Patrick than with actress Olivia Munn, whom he dated for three years before breaking up in April 2017.
For her part, Patrick broke up with fellow NASCAR star Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in December 2017 after five years together. Rodgers and Patrick met in 2012 at the ESPY Awards and say they kept in touch until they started dating.
As recently as December, Rodgers praised Patrick some more while appearing on her podcast, “Pretty Intense,” USA Today reported. He said he appreciated the way she helped him stay in shape for football by cooking healthy meals. He also said he looked forward to traveling with her in retirement and praised the impact she’d had on his life.
“From an emotional standpoint, I think you’re a very steady person, so that’s been nice to have a steady energy,” he told Patrick in their podcast conversation. “You know who you are and that brings even more calm to the house, which you know me, I’m always about calm and energetic cohesiveness and peace. And you’re a peacemaker. Sometimes you fight for it, but you’re a peacemaker.”